♪ >> this is "bbc world news." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives.

we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> the u.s. senate approves the deal to stop tax rises in spending cuts, which many feared would send the economy off of a fiscal cliff. leader of north korea makes a rare news." broadcast a reunified korea. >> the gift of peace, the pope celebrates a new year's mass in rome. welcome to "bbc world news." also in this program, top concerns as one in three women

in south africa try to lighten their skin. and an amazing escape by helicopter after it crashes into the sea in brazil. ♪ >> hello, happy new year to you. the deal is done now, the u.s. is counting on the and calls fof wrapped -- house of representatives to approve a bill that would avert the fiscal cliff. it was approved by the senate in the early hours in new year's day. the deadline was technically missed, but as long as the bill clears its final hurdle, a few effects will be felt, as today is a u.s. public holiday. >> vice-president joe biden,

dropping in on congress until -- as the clock ticks down to midnight. with good humor, a deal with senate republicans had been struck. >> i feel very good, we will get a very good vote tonight. happy new year. >> members of both parties overwhelmingly backed an agreement that had required compromise from all. >> it took an imperfect solution to save the constituents, but in my view, it was worth the effort. as i said, this should not be the model for how we do things around here, but i can say that we have done some good for the country. >> i have said all along that our most important priority was to protect middle-class families. these families will wake up today to the assurance that their taxes will not go up $2,200 each. >> the main points of the

agreement? only the wealthiest americans, individuals only -- earning over $400,000 per year will pay more in taxes. unemployment will be extended for some 2 million people. automatic spending cuts of $100 million in 2013 have been delayed for two months. technically, america did slipover the fiscal cliff because the house of representatives has yet to approve the deal. their members will reconvene later on new year's day. the brinksmanship has made it an anxious start to 2013 for millions of americans. this woman runs her own business and has had a baby recently. what she wants is certainty about her family's financial future. >> there are always decisions that affect the everyday lives of people.

what we have to go through every day and sacrifice while they are playing political games, they do not understand. >> those keeping score will note that the president has won concessions from republicans, something he drew attention to yesterday, irritating opponents. if the house of representatives backed the agreement, the worst of the fiscal cliff will be averted, but it is not the finest hour of washington. the biggest fights over the deficit are still to come. >> the iranian navy has tested in an ongoing navy drilled near the strait of hormuz. reportedly tested during naval exercises, 200 kilometers was the range of the weapons used. seven charity workers have been

killed in a drive-by shooting in northwest pakistan. police say that they were shot dead when their van was ambushed by gunmen on motorbikes. all of the victims are said to be pakistani citizens. our correspondent is there. what more details do we have? what do we know about these kinds of attacks? >> western pakistan has had a lot of attacks over the years. they have not been known for attacks like this, but the sense we are getting is that this happened just a couple of hours ago and, as you say, this community center was part school, part health clinic. all of the dead worked there, six of them were women. their vehicle was sprayed with bullets by gunmen riding motorbikes. six of the women have been

killed, one man has been killed. the driver has been badly injured, we hear. >> these sorts of a tax must be putting off those who go and volunteer. >> these were shocking attacks. just a few weeks ago there were nine people involved in a polio vaccination program here in pakistan, many of them women as well, shot dead. of course, when it comes to women's education in pakistan, that has been dangerous. we remember what happened to the 14-year-old schoolgirl just a few months ago, she campaigned for girls and women to get an education in pakistan. things are really going badly in

terms of women's education in northwest pakistan. the authorities say that they have a grip on the situation, even though they have carried out operations to weaken the structure of the taliban. over the last couple of months there just seemed to be more of them after a brief period of respite. >> has the taliban in pakistan said what they're hoping to gain from these attacks? >> the pakistani taliban in this case has yet to claim responsibility for killing these seven people. in the past they said that the polio vaccination program was something that was being used by the west to somehow get information from these areas. of course, they have had a long history of being against girls education, calling it western influence, forcing girls to get an education in this way. really, they have a big battle

in terms of turning around a mind set the began with militant groups that began to seek -- seep into communities in the northwest. now, pope benedict has celebrated a new year's day mass inside of the basilica and delivered the first message of 2013 from his studio. allen johnson of the bbc is in rome. >> we think of him as addressing the catholic world, certainly, but on this day, particularly new year's day, we are thinking about the world ahead. this was his typical, heartfelt message that he made from the st. peter's basilica. whereas we are 70 years into this economic crisis on this dae

was attacked head-on, talking about the dangers of capitalism, there was tension and confrontation caused by the growing tension between the rich and the poor in different countries. the selfish and individualistic mentalities expressed by unregulated capital. so often a concern of the pope, he regards it as a selfish and individualistic mentality and attitude that he sees as being the problem that takes people away from god and the religious message. all too important, the need for world peace and what is this catholic church day of world peace, a message there where he spoke of peace where the world is rich to the innate vocation of humanity for peace.

of course, the biblical passage, blessed are the peacemakers, they should be called the children of god. >> how important for these -- how important are these messages for these catholics, globally, who might be watching? >> of course, globally catholics look to the pope in so many ways. especially in a time like this in the new year ahead. it is a part of being catholic, the homilies where they keep time with the year that passed. listening to those catholics in places like syria, in north africa their community has come under such a frightening strain. taxes on churches, the middle east in particular is looking to

the pope as much as ever. >> that is allen johnson in rome. 60 people have been killed after being crushed during a new year's eve fireworks event in the new year's coast. as many as 200 more were injured when the crowd stampeded near a stadium in the commercial capital overnight. more of that as we get it. in an unexpected new year's message, the leader of north korea has called for an end to the confrontation between his country and south korea. he said that the two nations only have four to show for the conflict that exists between them. >> as in so many other cities, fireworks marked the start of 2013. away from the dazzling pyrotechnics, the leader of north korea was making comments

of his own. the first new year's address of this kind in years, he delivered what sounded like a message of peace. he called it an important issue in removing confrontation between the north and the south. the past records of these relations shows the confrontation leads to nothing but war. >> how the comments will go down themselves is not clear. there were furious when the navy launched a rocket, claiming that north korea was really conducting a test of long-range missile technology. the united nations also before the launch, saying that it broke a ban on missile tests. in the south korean president elect has called for a dialogue, but has made tough demands,

saying that north korea must abandon its nuclear ambitions in order to cooperate. it will be key to whether those hoping for a falling of relations will have something to celebrate in 2013. of >> more impressive fireworks, right? 2013 has made its way across the levirate celebrations from samoa in the pacific, up two new york, sydney, and rio. let's get more common now. >> the organizers call it the world's biggest fireworks display. sydney harbour, 7 tons of pyrotechnics, at the cost of almost $7 million.

one-and-a-half million people, spellbound by shells and sky bursts. 13 expensive, priceless minutes of aerial all. fittingly for a trading mitropoulos, shanghai had cosmopolitan extremities'. performed in the style of a red army santa claus with bayonets. another new entrant to the global firework contest was rangoon. the commercial capital burma. small beginnings, perhaps, for a visible sign that after a year of political reform, change is in the air. in to buy the celebrations were anything but small. in a city where ostentation is a way of life, they could claim to

have the world's tallest fireworks display. a window table at the restaurant halfway up cost a mere $4,000 per head. it was almost as tough to get into moscow's red square, revelers having to pass through intense security as fireworks exploded behind the cathedral a st. basil. in several european cities the celebrations were more muted than in the past. the only fireworks came from the crowd. the blowout was bigger in the berlin gate. the capital was expecting 1 million visitors for a 2 kilometer long party. after one year of royal and olympic celebrations, the london fireworks felt like a giant national pat on the back.

from river to river, everyone was there. >> gangham stlye. >> across the land ethic, it was the turn of rio de janeiro and a massive 16 minute spectacular. to north america and the mother of all new year's parties, they said the celebrations in motion. >> if you were a little bit bleary eyed and ready for a coffee, think again and go to the netherlands. stay with us.

india scaled-back the new year's celebration this year. there was public outrage over a woman who was gang raped and beaten on a bus in delhi. >> as nations around the world celebrated the beginning of a new year, this one was still morning. official celebrations were canceled in delhi after days of vigils and protests following the death of a young medical student, brutally raped on a bus. >> the demonstrators chanted that they would not tolerate violence against women. the outpouring here has been unprecedented. >> no one is happy. there is no point celebrating new year.

we expect something more of our government. >> these comments made by our politician were echoed by protesters. it was suggested that school girls wear trousers and shirts. some political figures say that they are appalled by the statement. >> this is a sick and observed comment and apologizing for it is no remedy. you cannot make ridiculous statements first and then apologize to get away from them. action should be taken at the party level. >> these comments will not appease some, who say that the government response to these attacks were slow. in 2013 they had to confront their past.

>> this is "bbc world news." the u.s. senate approves the deal to avert a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes known as the fiscal cliff. and the north korean leader has called for an improved economy and a reunified korea. from today, people in the netherlands who visit coffeeshops have different identifications and official documents to confirm that they lived in the country. they fully enforced the rules because they did not want to miss out on and come from tourists. >> customers can buy up to 5 grams at a time. it is not legal, but it is

decriminalized. the new rules caused the shops to close down. the staff thinks it will be catastrophic for the industry. >> it will be like the wild west. with the prices going around in europe, it is ridiculous that they're thinking about doing this, this will kill some many jobs. >> this will stop foreigners from trading amsterdam as a smoker's paradise. >> they took the government to court because they did not want to put up a sign saying that it is forbidden to use drugs in the square. >> many owners argue that they are already policing themselves. in >> you have to be 18 to come inside. >> the new policy holds only a

symbolic value. >> they need to do something about selling wheat in holland. more for the officials that on the streets. they do not mind if you are a minor. all they want is making money. >> the industry generates $500 million per year, a lot to you -- a lot to lose, but few willing to make sacrifices on how they believe is best to deal with the drug. >> in south africa, research estimates that one out of every three women use skin like runners. we have the report from johannesburg. >> is it simply vanity? or are there advantages to a lighter skin?

there is definitely a cosmetic use of skin meitner's. she says that lights the way that makes her look. >> can you not be black and beautiful? >> i did not say that. i am still black, and by night -- am i not? >> you say the want to be white. >> it is not about black or white, it is about my skin being light. i am not really fluent in english. i have black kids. my man is black. i am for black.

>> one out of three women on the continent bleach their skin. this refers to a disease caused by a combination of exposure to hydro cologne and sudden light. >> initially when you use it, your skin looks lovely and it reaches down perfectly. but look at this, now. >> doctors say that the biggest letdown is the failure by authorities to implement legislation in this regard. for instance, with a contribution bleach their skin. level of 2%, it has been banned since the 1980's, but they are still available, you find them everywhere, at the

street corner. >> we took the market -- the doctor to a market in johannesburg. >> they are still available. >> that report comes to us from johannesburg. saturday a rescue helicopter plunged into the sea in an attempt to help someone in trouble. caught on camera by a tourist. >> flying perilously low, this rescue helicopter hovers above the surf and suddenly it's water. shocked beachgoers watched in horror as the aircraft begins to sink. as the crew emerge, they swam out to help. they finally make it to shore, too late for by standards. -- bystanders. notices had been put on the beach cautioning of dangerous

currents. some ignored the warnings. >> the helicopter was getting close to the water. when they attempted to rescue the swimmer, the blade caught it. they were saving the lives of people who recklessly swam into the waves. the sea was raging yesterday and today. >> ships from the brazilian navy and fire service managed to locate the helicopter, which crashed after suffering a failure that was mechanical. what could have been its last rescue mission ended in trauma, but thankfully nothing more serious. >> very lucky escape their. officials from thailand have given food and drink to muslim refugees who crowded boat was fleeing from the violence in burma.

they were trying to flee to malaysia and had been traveling without food or water for days. the refugees were not allowed to land in certain territories and are expected to be left to continue. much more continuing from "bbc world news," thank you for being with us. >> makes sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide

capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of